Argentine President Javier Milei has renewed his country’s claim to sovereignty over the islands Britain calls the Falklands and Argentina refers to as the Malvinas. Describing the disputed South Atlantic archipelago as a central national issue, he urged Argentina and the United Kingdom to pursue a “peaceful solution” as tensions between the two countries continue to rise.
“The Malvinas for us is a national cause,” Milei, a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, said Wednesday during an address to the U.N. General Assembly in New York.
Milei accused the United Nations of failing to uphold international resolutions calling on both sides to “refrain from introducing unilateral changes while the dispute remains unresolved.” He also urged Britain to return to negotiations aimed at finding a “peaceful solution to the sovereignty dispute.”
“The Malvinas issue is not merely a matter between Argentina and the United Kingdom; it is also a question regarding this organization’s ability to enforce its own resolutions,” he said.
The dispute has escalated in recent weeks
Earlier this month, Milei intensified Argentina’s confrontation with Britain over the islands. He pledged new measures to block an oil project near the British-controlled archipelago and welcomed Trump’s suggestion that Washington might reassess its traditionally neutral position on the sovereignty dispute.
His administration also introduced a far-reaching security bill last week. The legislation would increase penalties for companies extracting resources around the islands without Argentine approval, establish a national security council chaired by Milei and give the military a broader role in safeguarding critical infrastructure in Argentina.
Addressing world leaders at the United Nations on Wednesday, Milei stepped up his criticism of the organization.
“Today I come to say that Argentina will not sit and wait for the U.N. and the international community to live up to their own mandate,” he said.
He went on to attack the United Nations in especially harsh terms, calling it “a useless organization that serves only to feed a caste of fatally arrogant parasites masquerading as well-intentioned bureaucrats.”
Britain says it will ‘stand firm’
As Milei renewed Argentina’s claim, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham addressed the issue during a high-profile week of diplomacy. Speaking Tuesday, Burnham said the U.K.’s position was “clear” and vowed that Britain would “stand firm” against any threats.
“We will defend the right of the Falkland Islanders to self-determination and to remain British,” Burnham told reporters after meeting Trump late Tuesday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.
In August, Trump said he was reviewing the United States’ neutral position on the remote South Atlantic islands. His comments came as he criticized Britain for not providing sufficient support for the U.S. war against Iran.
The Falkland Islands, known in Argentina as the Malvinas, are an archipelago of roughly 3,500 people located about 300 miles (480 kilometers) east of Argentina’s southeastern coast. Britain has administered them as an overseas territory since 1833. In a 2013 referendum, residents voted overwhelmingly to retain that status: 99.8% backed remaining a British overseas territory, while only three voters opposed it.
